Slaves in the Original Colonies: A Cruel Opression or an Economic Necessity?
Although the treatment of slaves during the early colonial period was undoubtedly cruel and inhumane, one could pose the question of whether those people who enslaved them were infact themselves cruel and inhumane. It is quite possible that they were meerly economical geniuses who saw a fairly easy way to make lots of money. It is also probable that this necesity for manual labor and the cooperation of the African kings of the time were the reasons for choosing Africans as this work source, reasons that preeceded any racial prejudice against individuals with darker skin. It is important to remember that slaves were used throughout Europe before they came to the colonies. Slavery was not a purely American concept. This page will delve further into uncovering whether or not slaves were a cruel opression or an economic necessity.
The History of Slaves in the Colonies
Although many people tend to blame the South for slavery, all thirteen colonies practiced slavery; however, the roots of colonial slavery can be traced back to Virginia. In 1676, Virginia was in political turmoil. Bacon's Rebellion had put fear into the minds of the powerful upper class and showed them that unless they could find some sort of scapegoat, the lower class would continue to become more and more angry with the oligopoly the upper class held in the tobacco industry. Another problem the leaders in Virginia were facing was a decent labor source. Indentured servants were quickly becoming a bad option. After their servitude, indentured servants became competition for their former employees, which quickly became a problem for the tobacco farmers because so much land is required for tobacco farming. Slavery becam e a quick fix for the social, and economic problems that the upper class was facing in Virginia.
By the end of the 1600's, seventy five percent of the Virginia population was slaves. The Virginians quickly realized that since the numbers of slaves were growing so ra pidly, they needed to oppress their slave population. This need for oppression was solved with the slave codes. In 1662, the first slave code stated that children of slaves will be slaves. By 1710, slave codes stated that conversion to Christianity does not change slave stature, their would be no punishment for killing a slave during beating, no black man can own white indentured servants, all African indentured servants automatically became slaves, and all free blacks had to leave Virginia. These slave codes obviously demonstrate the cruel side of slavery, but it seems tha t racism was a learned practice. Children growing up amongst slaves saw dark skinned people being treated as inferior, and their minds were programmed to believe that these darker people were inferior, but slavery was brought to the colonies by Africans themselves.
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade began in 1550 led by the Africans, Portuguese, and Dutch and remained a profit organization all the way until 1870. Ironically, the slaves were taken from Central Africa to the West African shore by Africans themselves then sold to the Europeans. Also, shockingly the highest death rate of slaves was when they were being held by other Africans, proving that the origins of slavery and slave cruelty were not racist concepts, but simply cruelty and greed for profit. Eventually, the British and French took over the slave trade, which made up one third of British colonial profi t alongside tobacco and sugar.
In our modern society, it is clear to us that slavery is extremely cruel, but in colonial America many people did not see the problem with slavery. Even Thomas Jefferson, who is one of the most respected Americans who ever lived, owned slaves. Not only did he own slaves, but he treated his slaves terribly and engaged in an extremely abusive relationship with one of his female slaves. There was no open resistance to slavery until 1750 in Philadelphia. People began to look at slavery as a reflection of the owners instead of the slaves themselves which raised several questions about the morals behind the practice; however, the movement quickly faded with no real results.
Slave Trade Boat
Although slaves led terribly difficult lives, slave families in Colonial America were able to hold on to some of their culture. Their language, Gullah, was still used and their culture was incorporated into their own form of Christianity mixing movement and singing with prayer. Many slaves were able to marry, although their marriages were often broken up by sale of one partner and many slave children knew their extended family. However, there was an unst able male presence in family life since males were very valuable and were often sold.
Even though slaves were able to hold on to shreds of family life, they were treated with extreme cruelty. Oftentimes, slaves were forced to witness public beatings in order to reinforce the notion that they were inferior and needed to be obedient. Also slaves were ripped away from their families with absolutely no remorse. They were forced to work in awful conditions all day long, and were often worked to death
.
All dates refer to the year not the specific day.
Colonial American Economics
The colonial economy was based almost entirely off of the European economy, particularly that of the British. It is important to remember that the first generation of the Americans was composed of British citizens who moved to America. The only economic ideas the Americans had came from what they knew of the European economy. Originally, they were not great thinkers they were mostly people who wanted freedom and adventure. They were not out to construct a new form of economy. The first colonists were socialist in their economies but quickly moved to land ownership when they realized land was attracting new settlers. Most of the trade the colonists did was with Britain though they traded with other European countries as well as European colonies such as India and the Caribbean. The goal of the colonists was gaining profit and they were totally focused on increasing seeking larger profits.
The British had great control over the American colonies due to their position as head of the empire. This control was very much a double edged sword. The British would not allow the colonists to make final products from their raw materials to aid the British economy. They also imposed tariffs on the importation of goods to America that increased process on necessities the colonists needed. On the other hand, it was important for the British to protect the American economy because they had invested in them very literally and gained a lot from the raw materials the colonists could produce. Therefore, the British also protected the colonists’ economy by creating monopolies within their empire. For example, Virginia had the tobacco monopoly and South Carolina had an indigo monopoly. Therefore, the colonists had no real competition and no need to keep their prices low. This monopoly made the colonists largely efficient and productive. Within the British empire if someone wanted to buy a product of the colonists it had to come from the colonies; there was no true competition. The British wanted to protect the American economy.
Income in the Americas may even have been larger than that of England's. Economically speaking the Americans were very well off. The cost of land transportation of goods was rather costly. Fortunately for the colonists they could transport their goods mostly by water and generally avoid land routes lowering the cost of transport. Americans were able to develop large port cities such as Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Charleston.
Conclusion
Although it is hard for modern society to accept, slaves were an extreme economic advantage. They provided noncompetitive labor with a one time payment and an extremely profitable business. However, the slave industry was not an economic necessity. Slavery in America was started out of pure cruelty, but not racial cruelty. The racism involved in slavery was a behavior that was engraved in the minds of Americans after being raised in an environment where slaves were inferior. The cruelty of slavery was pure greed and disregard for human life. Slave owners had no problems supporting a business that was responsible for the death of millions. In conclusion it seems as though while the slaves were not an absolute necessity, their use came not from the evil feelings of the slave owners towards Africans but from the owners greed and desire for larger profits.
Information taken from:
Scott, Carol E. "Understanding the Colonial Period Through Economic Theory." America's Colonial Period. Web. 21 Sep 2009. <http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cescott/colonial.html>.
Slaves in the Original Colonies: A Cruel Opression or an Economic Necessity?
Although the treatment of slaves during the early colonial period was undoubtedly cruel and inhumane, one could pose the question of whether those people who enslaved them were infact themselves cruel and inhumane. It is quite possible that they were meerly economical geniuses who saw a fairly easy way to make lots of money. It is also probable that this necesity for manual labor and the cooperation of the African kings of the time were the reasons for choosing Africans as this work source, reasons that preeceded any racial prejudice against individuals with darker skin. It is important to remember that slaves were used throughout Europe before they came to the colonies. Slavery was not a purely American concept. This page will delve further into uncovering whether or not slaves were a cruel opression or an economic necessity.
The History of Slaves in the Colonies
Although many people tend to blame the South for slavery, all thirteen colonies practiced slavery; however, the roots of colonial slavery can be traced back to Virginia. In 1676, Virginia was in political turmoil. Bacon's Rebellion had put fear into the minds of the powerful upper class and showed them that unless they could find some sort of scapegoat, the lower class would continue to become more and more angry with the oligopoly the upper class held in the tobacco industry. Another problem the leaders in Virginia were facing was a decent labor source. Indentured servants were quickly becoming a bad option. After their servitude, indentured servants became competition for their former employees, which quickly became a problem for the tobacco farmers because so much land is required for tobacco farming. Slavery becam e a quick fix for the social, and economic problems that the upper class was facing in Virginia.
By the end of the 1600's, seventy five percent of the Virginia population was slaves. The Virginians quickly realized that since the numbers of slaves were growing so ra pidly, they needed to oppress their slave population. This need for oppression was solved with the slave codes. In 1662, the first slave code stated that children of slaves will be slaves. By 1710, slave codes stated that conversion to Christianity does not change slave stature, their would be no punishment for killing a slave during beating, no black man can own white indentured servants, all African indentured servants automatically became slaves, and all free blacks had to leave Virginia. These slave codes obviously demonstrate the cruel side of slavery, but it seems tha t racism was a learned practice. Children growing up amongst slaves saw dark skinned people being treated as inferior, and their minds were programmed to believe that these darker people were inferior, but slavery was brought to the colonies by Africans themselves.
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade began in 1550 led by the Africans, Portuguese, and Dutch and remained a profit organization all the way until 1870. Ironically, the slaves were taken from Central Africa to the West African shore by Africans themselves then sold to the Europeans. Also, shockingly the highest death rate of slaves was when they were being held by other Africans, proving that the origins of slavery and slave cruelty were not racist concepts, but simply cruelty and greed for profit. Eventually, the British and French took over the slave trade, which made up one third of British colonial profi t alongside tobacco and sugar.
In our modern society, it is clear to us that slavery is extremely cruel, but in colonial America many people did not see the problem with slavery. Even Thomas Jefferson, who is one of the most respected Americans who ever lived, owned slaves. Not only did he own slaves, but he treated his slaves terribly and engaged in an extremely abusive relationship with one of his female slaves. There was no open resistance to slavery until 1750 in Philadelphia. People began to look at slavery as a reflection of the owners instead of the slaves themselves which raised several questions about the morals behind the practice; however, the movement quickly faded with no real results.
Although slaves led terribly difficult lives, slave families in Colonial America were able to hold on to some of their culture. Their language, Gullah, was still used and their culture was incorporated into their own form of Christianity mixing movement and singing with prayer. Many slaves were able to marry, although their marriages were often broken up by sale of one partner and many slave children knew their extended family. However, there was an unst able male presence in family life since males were very valuable and were often sold.
Even though slaves were able to hold on to shreds of family life, they were treated with extreme cruelty. Oftentimes, slaves were forced to witness public beatings in order to reinforce the notion that they were inferior and needed to be obedient. Also slaves were ripped away from their families with absolutely no remorse. They were forced to work in awful conditions all day long, and were often worked to death
.
All dates refer to the year not the specific day.
Colonial American Economics
The colonial economy was based almost entirely off of the European economy, particularly that of the British. It is important to remember that the first generation of the Americans was composed of British citizens who moved to America. The only economic ideas the Americans had came from what they knew of the European economy. Originally, they were not great thinkers they were mostly people who wanted freedom and adventure. They were not out to construct a new form of economy. The first colonists were socialist in their economies but quickly moved to land ownership when they realized land was attracting new settlers. Most of the trade the colonists did was with Britain though they traded with other European countries as well as European colonies such as India and the Caribbean. The goal of the colonists was gaining profit and they were totally focused on increasing seeking larger profits.The British had great control over the American colonies due to their position as head of the empire. This control was very much a double edged sword. The British would not allow the colonists to make final products from their raw materials to aid the British economy. They also imposed tariffs on the importation of goods to America that increased process on necessities the colonists needed. On the other hand, it was important for the British to protect the American economy because they had invested in them very literally and gained a lot from the raw materials the colonists could produce. Therefore, the British also protected the colonists’ economy by creating monopolies within their empire. For example, Virginia had the tobacco monopoly and South Carolina had an indigo monopoly. Therefore, the colonists had no real competition and no need to keep their prices low. This monopoly made the colonists largely efficient and productive. Within the British empire if someone wanted to buy a product of the colonists it had to come from the colonies; there was no true competition. The British wanted to protect the American economy.
Income in the Americas may even have been larger than that of England's. Economically speaking the Americans were very well off. The cost of land transportation of goods was rather costly. Fortunately for the colonists they could transport their goods mostly by water and generally avoid land routes lowering the cost of transport. Americans were able to develop large port cities such as Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Charleston.
Conclusion
Although it is hard for modern society to accept, slaves were an extreme economic advantage. They provided noncompetitive labor with a one time payment and an extremely profitable business. However, the slave industry was not an economic necessity. Slavery in America was started out of pure cruelty, but not racial cruelty. The racism involved in slavery was a behavior that was engraved in the minds of Americans after being raised in an environment where slaves were inferior. The cruelty of slavery was pure greed and disregard for human life. Slave owners had no problems supporting a business that was responsible for the death of millions. In conclusion it seems as though while the slaves were not an absolute necessity, their use came not from the evil feelings of the slave owners towards Africans but from the owners greed and desire for larger profits.Information taken from:
Scott, Carol E. "Understanding the Colonial Period Through Economic Theory." America's Colonial Period. Web. 21 Sep 2009. <http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cescott/colonial.html>.
The Middle Passage. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p277.html. September 21, 2009.
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. http://africanhistory.about.com/od/slavery/tp/TransAtlantic001.htm. September 21, 2009.